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John Callaham of HomeLan recently played through a beta of the PS2 and soon to be PC/Mac shooter Red Faction and has posted a preview containing his impressions of the presentation, gameplay, and the multiplayer aspects. For the uninitiated, Red Faction, developed by Volition, is a FPS title that seeks to break out of the FPS rut by incorporating various features, including the ability to deform the environment via the Geo-Mod engine.

The gameplay aspect of RF sounds quite favorable. Callaham notes that gameplay is not completely linear, with players being given the choice of things such as alternate routes and various objectives, rather than just going from point A to B while eradicating everything in the way. In one mission, the main character is stripped of weapons, bringing a more stealth-based approach into play.

For those that enjoy nothing more than the eradication of everything, Red Faction certainly seems to deliver. Though most of the enemies are human, there are some alien and robotic menaces to take on as well. Locational damage is included in the package (headshots and all), and the AI itself seems fairly intelligent:

I was also impressed with the AI of Red Faction’s enemies. They bob and weave to avoid fire, take cover, and even run away sometimes. I was particularly impressed when I commandeered a stationary gun and the Ultor soldiers, seeing a rather powerful weapon being trained on them, ran away from me and didn’t return until I left the stationary gun.

For the rest of the preview, be sure to check it out at HomeLan. RF is currently set for a mid-September release date for PC, with the Mac version to follow close behind. IMG will be sure to update readers if we hear any changes regarding this.

HomeLan - Red Faction Preview

Red Faction Official Site

GraphSim (add to watch list)

Volition (add to watch list)

Red Faction (add to watch list)

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